Chapter 121……………………………………
I took out the letters I had received since the first year, one by one.
“Anne, time seems to pass slowly. I miss you. But I have to endure it. Sherbert hyung keeps telling me I’m too weak, so it won’t work. So I’m training hard, and after that, my heart races and it’s a bit fun.”
Ah, that mouth of terror.
Why does he always tease his younger sibling?
Well, at least it was a relief that Ron said he was having fun.
I unfolded another letter.
“Anne, I’m doing well. But last night, Sherbert hyung had a handkerchief tied around his wrist even though he wasn’t hurt. And even though I didn’t ask, he said it was because of a ‘poison mark.’ I don’t have a poison mark, so isn’t it fine without a handkerchief?”
At that time, after reading Ron’s letter, I was so surprised that I quickly bought twenty handkerchiefs and sent them.
“Anyway, he’s improved a lot.”
When I first met Ron, he wasn’t used to writing letters.
He only wrote basic greetings.
Now, he filled the entire page with his writing.
Feeling proud, I prayed with all my heart.
“May everyone there remain unharmed and alive.”
As Sherbert and Ron’s return was delayed, the Duke went to the region where the two brothers were every year.
I always wanted to go with him, but he never allowed it.
That year, the Duke was scarier than usual in his determination.
After visiting the Loudne region, swarming with monsters, he reported that Sherbert and Ron were safe.
And every time he came back, he brought a large gift.
“…Ugh, the smell!”
It was the corpses of monsters.
A huge wagon had been specially made to carry them to the Loudne region, then return with the monster corpses.
He had selected only useless monsters, without leather or cores.
Just looking at them made one gag, and they smelled like a cesspool.
“Send them to the temple.”
It was a gift for the Pope.
Thanks to the golden statue Anne had given, the Pope had protected the temple’s sacred relics.
In return, the Pope was supposed to bestow divine power on Ron Careys, but he slyly proposed another deal.
He sent the Careys men to the Loudne region.
This was so audacious that the Careys men, including myself, wanted to show him the proper way to deal with it.
“Tell him that in gratitude for the divine power, we’re sending a gift again this year.”
It had been three years already, never forgotten.
I thought he would keep sending gifts until Sherbert and Ron returned safely.
Central Temple
Like last year, it was chaotic again.
The temple was piled high with monster corpses.
Some priests gagged, while others tried to run away.
The Pope, seeing this, staggered as if he might collapse again this year.
“I thought it was over, but it’s not!”
The monster corpses were giving him a headache.
His hands trembled as he held his forehead.
He regretted it every moment.
He should have just given Ron Carey the divine power.
He should have listened obediently.
“Why propose a useless deal…!”
At first, he even sent someone to complain to the Duke.
But the next day, double the number of monster corpses arrived.
The Pope personally pleaded with the Emperor and the Duke.
Still, it didn’t work.
The Emperor ignored him, and the Duke shamelessly called it a gift of thanks.
The priests, who had endured silently at first, eventually sent him looks of reproach.
In the end, the only thing he could say was:
“Let us pray with all our hearts that the Carey brothers return safely from the Loudne region.”
To think that one day he would be praying for the Careys, the shadowy family in the empire.
But the only solution was for them to return safely as soon as possible.
“Your Holiness.”
At that moment, a cleric came to him while he was praying earnestly.
And what the cleric said was incomprehensible.
“I looked at the monster corpses, and none of them had poison sacs.”
“What do you mean?”
“Actually, I didn’t mention it at first, thinking it was a coincidence the first year and last year, but there are traces that suggest they were deliberately removed.”
The cleric added that he had simply hurried to dispose of the corpses before they decayed, without worrying about poison.
“No poison… who on earth…”
The Pope, lost in thought, slowly relaxed his furrowed brow.
Over the years, some things had changed in the Duke’s mansion.
First, love had sprouted here and there.
Kautz and Gruter had officially become a couple.
Although Gruter went with Ron to the Loudne region, Kautz rushed out every time a letter arrived to ask for news, making their relationship openly known.
The “flower deer” and the “black bear.”
As their nicknames spread in the mansion, everyone had to suppress the goosebumps they caused.
I wholeheartedly supported their love.
And there was more.
Woof woof.
Roro had given birth to many puppies—six in total.
The wiggling puppies each had different fur colors.
Some inherited Roro’s white fur, some had golden fur.
Golden.
A color symbolizing the royal family, so one could immediately tell who the father was.
Previously, Krimu had entered the palace with the Duke’s permission.
He had met the crown prince’s dog, Poppy, and it seemed they had bonded.
“Anyway, everyone loves someone except me, huh?”
And there was another love I supported.
“Sis! Anne sis!”
Krimu’s cheerful voice brightened my mood.
“Krimu!”
In three years, Krimu had grown a lot.
He had learned etiquette and now carried the Careys family aura.
He even understood the concept of “sister-in-law” and no longer used it.
“What are you doing here?”
His blue hair, tousled from running, settled on his head as he smiled at me with bright, curious eyes.
“Just on a short walk. Coming back from training?”
Krimu shook his head with a smile.
“Oh, you went to see Elizabeth?”
Krimu blushed and nodded.
“So he’s the most proactive of the three brothers, huh?”
I gently poked Krimu’s still-chubby cheeks.
“You didn’t skip training to go, right?”
“Of course not. I trained early and then went to Ellie. She wanted cake.”
“You bought it for her?”
“Yes.”
Krimu proudly smiled, thinking of Ellie.
Seeing him, a pang of wistfulness struck me, like watching a child leave my arms.
Of course, Krimu wasn’t my child.
“Sis, here!”
Still, Krimu always remembered me.
“Wow, lemon cake.”
He had bought one for me along with Ellie’s.
“I’ll eat it well. By the way, how’s Miss Sergia these days?”
Miss Sergia was Elizabeth’s older sister, invited to the tea party.
Though we weren’t close then, she was part of the group that played with Bianca, so I was occasionally curious.
“She got angry today too. I came to see her again.”
“Hmm, and?”
“So today I gave her flowers. Asking her to take care of her younger sister’s boyfriend properly. That way I can play with Ellie.”
He was trying to win over the older sister.
I ruffled Krimu’s hair and slyly asked:
“And what about Miss Alter? Do you still hang out with her?”
Bianca Alter.
We had lost touch after hearing she was no longer a candidate for crown princess.
I occasionally asked Krimu if she still hung out with friends.
Then suddenly, she was chosen again as crown princess—a shocking development.
This time, she wasn’t even a candidate; the wedding would be soon.
Under the royal family’s supervision, Bianca grew even more distant.
Krimu shook his head.
“No. I don’t think she’s hanging out with anyone.”
“Got it. Thanks. And I’ll enjoy the cake.”
“Mm.”
Krimu nodded and stared at me silently.
“Krimu, why? Do you have something to tell me?”
He looked me over carefully and then said:
“Sis, you like Roni hyung more than Sherbert hyung, right?”
“……Huh? W-what do you mean, Krimu?”
I was flustered.
It was true, but I was currently Sherbert’s fiancée.
Even if I disliked Sherbert, I had to hide it.
Perhaps my feelings had unconsciously shown.
“When you got a letter from Roni hyung, your eyes looked soft, but when a letter came from Sherbert hyung, they looked sharp.”
“…!”
Ah. So that’s why.
But I really felt happy when a letter came from Ron!
It was instinctive and couldn’t be helped.
Krimu, seeing my surprise, smiled, confident his guess was right.
“It’s okay, sis. Actually, I also like Roni hyung a bit more.”
“What? Hahaha.”
“Let’s keep it a secret; Sherbert hyung would get jealous.”
“Alright. But Roni and I have been friends for a long time. Many things happened between us.”
Krimu thought for a moment and said:
“Like me and Ellie?”
“Yes, something like that.”
Instantly, Krimu’s round cheeks turned red.
Thus, we shared a secret together.
